Security measures taken for RSS chief: ATS to HC

Mumbai: Adequate security measures have
been taken by authorities in the wake of reports of an alleged
plot to assassinate RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Maharashtra Anti-
Terrorism Squad informed the Bombay High Court today.

Senior counsel Rohini Salian, on behalf of ATS, told
the court in response to its query as to what steps the
government proposed to take in respect of this allegation made
by 2008 Malegaon Blast accused Sameer Kulkarni in a letter.

Salian also informed a bench headed by Justice B H
Marlapalle that the Government would look into a demand made
by the accused urging the High Court for a direction to police
to register a fresh FIR and also seeking a detailed probe into
the conspiracy to kill Bhagwat.

Taking the statement of ATS Counsel on record, Justice
Marlapalle adjourned the matter to July 2 for further hearing.

Kulkarni had written a letter stating that while going
through the chargesheet in the Malegaon bomb blast case (in
which he is an accused), he came across statements of two
witnesses who had revealed that there was a conspiracy to kill
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The High Court converted the letter into a criminal
writ petition last week, and the government as well as ATS
were asked to file their response on what steps they proposed
to take in the wake of these allegations.

Kulkarni, who was arrested by ATS in this case in 2008,
stated in the letter that witnesses -- Captain Nitin Joshi and
Sham Apte -- had in their statements to police revealed a plot
to kill Bhagwat and one Indresh Kumar.

Both the witnesses had said that there was a plot to kill
Bhagwat when he visited Pune for a programme, Kulkarni had
stated in the letter.

He also urged for a direction to police to file fresh FIR
and a hold a probe into the conspiracy. Despite writing to
authorities no steps had been taken in this regard, he had
claimed in his letter.

The ATS had earlier submitted records of this case in a
sealed envelope in response to a High Court directive.

On going through the statements of witnesses Joshi and
Apte, the judges observed that prima facie there was material
in regard to the alleged conspiracy to kill the RSS chief.

Kulkarni, believed to be the chief promoter of Abhinav
Bharat, is accused of participating in three meetings with
other accused at Bhonsala Military School in Nashik for
planning the blast conspiracy.

Eight persons were killed and 80 injured in the blast
at Malegaon on September 29, 2008.

Eleven persons, including Kulkarni, former armyman Lt Col
Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur are facing trial
in this case in a Nashik court.